re: An oil change at the Mercedes dealership nowadays will basically cost you five hundy.

Nah, you figure it out.

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I do lots of my own repairs. I have an RV and a boat so im always fixing something. Just did the 100hr service on outbiard...

But I dont have a lift, unfortunately.

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Having a lift would be great!

Hydraulic ramps are surprisingly inexpensive.

I just retired, so I'm planning to do a lot more DIY. My dad was a master mechanic and taught me a lot about car repairs, but that was over 50 years ago. Things have changed and my skills have deteriorated out of laziness / wealth. But now I have the luxury of YouTube videos.

The primary issue is access to tools. My dad, by trade, was a "tool maker." If he didn't have a tool that could do the job, he made one. He came up with some really clever designs. Especially after he got old and no longer had the dexterity he had as a younger man.

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YouTube videos

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Greatest thing ever for DIY.

I want to get lift and Im putting AC in the detached garage now.

Also, love the Fumoto valves for when I do the truck. 3 gallons of oil is a PITA.

Eff borrowing tools.

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Greatest thing ever for DIY.

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Yes and no. It baffles me why someone who wants to wrench on their vehicle doesn’t have or use a good factory maintenance manual. What a lot YouTube vids sometimes leave out are the cautions and warnings that can come with even the most simple tasks.
Example: Replacing a GM Alternator. I watched two vids that failed to mention to disconnect the battery first. You and I know that, but someone that doesn’t know is going to have a big surprise when he puts the wrench on the positive terminal lug and he gets a face full of sparks when his wrench touches the case. And if he is lucky, he didn’t fry anything else out.
Saw the same thing with a starter. That big black cable has a lot of current waiting to spark and arc.
There was a vid on how to service your car AC system that was totally wrong and dangerous. It has since been pulled.
Use caution when using YouTube vids and read the comments attached.

I agree. Get the factory maintenance manual.

As for vids, I watch more than one on doing anything. Also FB have groups for any vehicle.

VEX European

Way better price and people that actually care about customers and cars.

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There is no benefit from pre-filling oil filter. Google it. No benefit.

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I am not getting deep into the greatest car engine oil internet argument but I will ask if you find one tribologist that agrees with you.

Tribologists live by the 4 Rs:

Right oil
Right place
Right time
Right amount

Not pre-filling the filter compromises 3 of those for several seconds. You are leaning heavily on what's left of the ZDDP (or similar additives like boronated esters, and moly) in the used oil. This is where the attempts at "scientific" testing fail with their lack of taking this into account. It is simply a test that has to be done on a mule over a LONG period of time because that used oil has to be what's in the engine prior to the testing. You could do it over a short time but have to clean all the new oil out and get the used oil back in the engine. The used oil needs to be at the end of its drain interval.

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No issues ever. Multiple cars over 100K and some 200K.

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Thats barely broken in. What did your UOAs say? These are the type of numbers where you start seeing the fruits of being vigilant.

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Owning and working on cars 40 years.

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I have a couple of years on you, but not much. I learned to build engines from the minds and hands of Gene Fulton and Bud Moore after school. I will stick with them and actual tribologists.

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So what do you do about a spin-on that screws from the top down? (2nd gen Tacoma) Or a canister type filter? (3rd gen Tacoma)

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For fuel injected engines look up the clear flood mode procedure for the vehicle. It is USUALLY holding the accelerator to the floor and turning the engine over. As long as it has a mechanical oil pump this will prefill the entire system.

Back when I was building race engines we always filled the oil filters but the were usually a pair of FL1s on a remote filter bracket with the oil filter hanging vertically. Before the initial startup and dyno runs I would pull the distributor and I had an attachment that went on a drill you could put down the hole in the block for the distributor and it mated to the oil pump shaft and spin the oil pressure up because outside of some lube on the bearings and cam shaft the engine was dry.

It wasn't usually an issue on older cars because most of them had plate up vertical spin on filter arrangements so they were easy to pre-fill.